Waffen-SS Dutch & Belgian Volunteers

After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Dutchmen, Belgians, and Danes volunteered for the Waffen-SS, including the SS Volunteer Legion Netherlands, SS Volunteer Legion Flanders, SS Assault Brigade Langemarck, and Free Corps Denmark. These units fought in Yugoslavia, Northern Russia, and the Eastern Front, with some being evacuated by sea or killed or captured in April 1945.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 03 February 2023
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, numerous Dutchmen, Belgians, and Danes volunteered for the Waffen-SS. The largest division, SS Volunteer Legion Netherlands, operated in Yugoslavia and then Northern Russia. It was later re-designated 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nederland. Fighting alongside the Nederland formation was the SS Volunteer Legion Flanders, manned mainly with Dutch-speaking recruits from occupied Belgium. After being disbanded, it was later reformed as the SS Assault Brigade Langemarck (SS-Sturmbrigade Langemarck). The SS Volunteer Legion Walloon, recruited from French-speaking volunteers from German-occupied Belgium, was sent to Russia and later integrated with the SS Assault Brigade Wallonia (SS-Sturmbrigade Wallonien). Finally, some 6,000 Danes served in Free Corps Denmark, which went to the Eastern Front in May 1942. Within a year, the formation was disbanded into Division Nordland, known as "Regiment 24 Danemark." Drawing on a superb collection of rare and often unpublished photographs, this fine Images of War book describes the fighting history of each formation, notably the 1944 battle of Narva, which was known as the battle of the European SS. As its forces were pushed further back across a scarred and burning wasteland, it describes how these Dutch, Belgian, and Danish units became cut off in the Kurland Pocket until some were evacuated by sea. The remainder were killed or captured in front of Berlin in April 1945.

Weight: 466g
Dimension: 189 x 247 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399087629